Is a press release a bad idea?
-
We've never sent out a press release before using one of the services, and thought it might finally be time. Then I saw that Google seems to be calling services like PR Newswire out.
"Links with optimized anchor text in articles or press releases distributed on other sites."
https://support.google.com/webmasters/answer/66356?hl=en
So, is it worth it to spend a few hundred bucks to distribute a press release, or am I better off just publishing it on my blog for my blog writing service and promoting it all the regular ways?
-
PRWeb have advised that all their links are "no-follow" with effect from when google made this announcement.
And i believe Matt Cutts clarified in a video recently that good press releases have value, as it will get your message out there and potentially picked up by bloggers and press agencies, what you wont get anymore, is any google juice!
-
Published yesterday by Aaron Wall...
-
For strategic reasons, Boston would be better.
I like your idea, though.
-
Good point, but I'd check references, etc.
Hmmm. Tough one.
-
Scott,
Do a search on public relations Denver. Look at the pr blog one, then the one without shoes, then the one about mid page looking for interns. I am willing to bet you can find someone within that group that would take your $500.
If you say they do a good job, I am willing to give them a shot as well.Best,
-
Yeah, but what you're paying the provider for is the sure knowledge that they're going to spam your press release. On Craigslist you wouldn't even be sure your $500 would go to do even that.
-
That's an interesting idea.
I could just go on craigslist or someplace and say, "I was going to pay $500 to newswire or someone to distribute my press release, but I'd rather pay a person. Send me a proposal about how you'd send out this press release (I'll send you the early version) and the best proposal will get that $500, and the prospect of more work in the future."
Not sure where I could post that, but maybe it's worth doing.
Thanks!
-
Scott, I am not saying you are. My point is about PR Web, newswire, etc. What they do is spam the world with their news releases and yes, some get a bit of traction. At the same time, I can tell you of individual pages of content I have written, placed on a client site, and watched as it got picked up by Google as a news piece and made my client some money. (No, that does not happen even regularly.) My point is that there is a news release or PR release that is real and then there are these SALES companies whose only motivation is to SELL YOU on their PR product of sorts.
If what you have is newsworthy, put it out there yourself or use one of them and see what happens. If I put out a piece about a lawyer who has decided to take a certain case (say tainted baby food) is that really news? Bob X has decided his firm the X law firm is now taking tainted baby food cases (then a rehash of something that has been in the news for a year), that IMO is worthless. If it is truly newsworthy, if you are the only one it applies to, etc. give it a go with them and then tell us what happened.
Or, pick up the phone or email several PR professionals where you are and ask what they would charge to put it out to their "contacts." I am guessing if you get half lucky they will get a better response for you than one of the PR Spam companies. It is simply a choice for you of try it and see or try something else and see. Then you will have the experience for the next time.
Hope that clarifies
Best to you.
-
Hey, I'm not doing this for a quick-and-dirty way to boost SEO. I'm doing this because I really think it's news and I want the world to know.
If that's the case, does PR Newswire or one of the others help?
-
If I may put a few words in EGOL's response, it is like this: You can do the quick and dirty SEO or the higher end longer lasting SEO. You do get what you pay for so: For the quick and dirty you quickly get dirty - When you do the longer lasting SEO (good site, content, etc) you end up higher end in more ways than one.
Yes, that is original!
-
That's a really good point about the news value of the release.
I think this news is big, but I've had trouble getting reporters to write about us. The reason for that is that we are a blog writing service. We pay writers to essentially ghost write posts for our business clients.
The reporters, already feeling besieged, think that we are somehow degrading the world of writing, so they don't like to cover us.
Our news release addresses the question of the treatment of our writers, so that's why I'm hopeful we'll get some traction with this news release.
-
They say they send stuff to 20,000 publications, who knows how true that is.
Yes. This is exactly why I would not use them - even if they paid me hundreds of dollars.
This is something to recommend to your competitors. Definitely not to use for yourself.
-
There are some entry level plans that you can do for a few hundred dollars, and there are some new players, too. PressKing seems interesting. They say they send stuff to 20,000 publications, who knows how true that is.
-
I think that the problem arises when the release is loaded with KW anchor links and spammed out to every PR site on the web... and the PR companies email spam every blogger email address that they can get their hands on - even if the blogger does not cover anything even close to the topic of the release. Some PR companies know nothing of Penguin and happily think that they are "spreading the word".
-
They're like any other content, in that they're only worthwhile if there is an original idea behind them and they are of substantial interest to your audience or their influencers. When press releases came to common use on the web, the need for creativity in creating them increased as the number of people releasing them increased. A great press release is still worth the money, but if it's not great--it probably isn't.
-
Press releases used to be dignified and worthy efforts. Then the web turned the PR industry into a bunch of spammers who wear suits to work.
So, is it worth it to spend a few hundred bucks to distribute a press release...
That might cost you an awful lot more if you get slapped with a Penguin problem.
-
The last time I answered a question around this, a PR Web rep sent me a nasty email. In spite of that my opinion remains unchanged. I do not believe they are worth the costs. Yes, I still see their "press releases" ranking occasionally for certain legal terms and I don't keep up with how long that lasts, etc. Even though Google says they don't like them, the results seem to say otherwise. But, I have yet to see the "few hundred bucks" plan you mention here.
I was looking at it some time back and you had to give them thousands up front and they tell you when you can or cannot put out a release, etc.
You can get links with good content and diligence. So, all you PR reps give us a call
Got a burning SEO question?
Subscribe to Moz Pro to gain full access to Q&A, answer questions, and ask your own.
Browse Questions
Explore more categories
-
Moz Tools
Chat with the community about the Moz tools.
-
SEO Tactics
Discuss the SEO process with fellow marketers
-
Community
Discuss industry events, jobs, and news!
-
Digital Marketing
Chat about tactics outside of SEO
-
Research & Trends
Dive into research and trends in the search industry.
-
Support
Connect on product support and feature requests.
Related Questions
-
Getting Traffic to a New Website - Looking for Ideas
I am working with a company that is launching a brand new website (for a new business they are creating). I am wondering what things people have done to try to start building traffic and/or awareness for the site.
Branding | | TopFloor0 -
No Domain Link In Press Release, What About Yelp?
Hi Moz, I understand that using a PR for SEO benefit is old-school, black hat, and largely outlawed by Google. We are simply trying to get our name pushed further into the local market, i.e., using a press release for it's natural intention. Our company offers free quotes through our site and the scheduling of jobs with new clients is largely done online. I think it seems silly NOT to have a link to our URL in the press release, but rather than poke Google, we're fine omitting it. However, would linking our Yelp near the end be a big deal? Yelp no-follows their URLs back to the company site so there isn't a risk with pumping up a support link through PR and we can provide SOME clickable link to our information. Thoughts?
Branding | | kirmeliux0 -
Backlink Badges - Good or Bad
One of my free tools for creating web pages automatically inserts a back-link to my home page as a footer, or 'badge' from the free web pages it creates. Hence there are tens of thousands of low quality sites out there linking back to my home page. While this was great ten years ago, Google looks on things differently these days. So the question is, will Google penalize me for this? Does the negative outweigh the positive - should I remove the insertion of back-link badges from the product? Thanks, Peter
Branding | | virtualmechanics2 -
Considering Switch to old Domain - Any Bad Karma?
So here is the issue. I am working with a company that used to have a branded domain. Then they split the domain into two separate keyword rich domains and tried to change branding to match the keyword rich domains. This made for a really long brand name that is difficult to actually rank for as it is mostly hi traffic key terms and also created brand confusion because all of the social accounts still operate under the old brand name. We are considering a new brand initiative and going back to the original brand name as it better meets our business objectives (they still get traffic from branded searches under the old brand) and the old branded web domain. My question is if there is any added risk in going back to an old domain that has been forwarded for the past 2 years to the new domain? I know the risks and problems of a domain name change, but I am not as certain about the added complication of moving back to an old domain and essentially reversing the flow of 301's. Any thoughts? Cheers!
Branding | | prima-2535090 -
Ideas for Building Bootstrap-Funded Project Guerrilla Style
It's on a very bootstrapped budget right now, but I will be trying to build awareness, build a following, and ultimately, increase sales. Can anyone help with successful grassroots campaigns where dollars for search or display ads and fresh blog content were at a minimum? The client has spent too much on product development, PR, web design, etc thus far, so I'm going to need to get some viral traction first in order to convince them to re-invest. Below is my strategy:
Branding | | csmithal
It is an online assessment that helps lawyers and law students make better career decisions by answering two questions: Which legal practice areas are the best fits for my interests and values? Which general (non-legal) career fields are the best fits for my interests and values? Tangible Business Goals: Build awareness Spark relationships with clients, prospects, and influencers Better understand buyers or potential buyers Increase website traffic Improve search engine rankings Generate leads Generate sales Targeting: 1. Law Students
2. Prospective Law Students
3. Lawyers
4. Law Schools
5. Law Firms
6. Companies employing in-house counsel
7. Bar Associations Channels: LinkedIn Groups Facebook Twitter Action Items:
Find influencers on Twitter to help spread the cause using online tools like FollowerWonk. Low-hanging Fruit: Posting to primary social channels, Facebook, LinkedIn, Twitter. Frequency: Twitter: 3x daily Facebook: 3-4x weekly LinkedIn: 3-4x daily Forum & Blog Participation: 5x weekly Content Marketing Campaign: A contest to target winners of a free assesssment. Contest selects 4 winners, since there are several different audiences. 1. Prospective Law Student
2. Current Law Student
3. Current Attorney (Law Firm)
4. Current Attorney (In-house counsel) Contest/Giveaway: Social media activity steam in initial phases will be based around contest opportunity. In order to enter, entrants will need to either Like on Facebook and follow/retweet on Twitter, connect with LawFit Company Page on Twitter. All will be required to subscribe to e-mail newsletter. What am I missing?0 -
What are the biggest (most serious) press release portals in the UK/USA?
A customer is releasing a brand new and world wide unique product in the next few weeks. I want to send out press releases to the biggest and most serious press release portals to get this news out in the world. Can you recommend me some english portals in the UK / U.S.A. and maybe Australia?
Branding | | leetweb2012
It's no problem if they are expensive and i don't need links in every case. Thanks.0 -
Is it good/bad to place a press release on a third party website as well as your own?
I have read that if a Company issues a press release via a third part service (e.g. PR Web) it is best not to place the release on the company’s own website due to negative SEO effects. Is this the case? I‘d really appreciate others thoughts on this.
Branding | | E2E0
